This disclosure relates to input methods.
Languages that use a logographic script in which one or two characters correspond roughly to one word or meaning have more characters than keys on a standard input device, such as a computer keyboard or a mobile device keypad. For example, the Chinese language contains tens of thousands of characters defined by base Pinyin characters and five tones. The mapping of these many-to-one associations can be implemented by input methods that facilitate entry of characters and symbols not found on input devices. Accordingly, a Western-style keyboard can be used to input Chinese characters. Likewise, input methods can be used for using a Western style keyboard to input many other languages that include ideograms, such as the Japanese language, the Korean language, and other languages.
An input method editor can be used to realize an input method. For example, an input method editor may have two language context modes, e.g., an English mode and a Chinese mode. Often a user of a device implementing an input method editor may desire to switch between the language context modes, e.g., from Chinese to English or from English to Chinese. A user selection of a particular language context mode may be required, which can, at times, be inconvenient.